The Cleveland Browns selecting left tackle Spencer Fano with the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft was one of the least surprising decisions GM Andrew Berry has made during his tenure. It wasn’t the flashiest selection he could have made at the time, but it was exactly what the team needed as the Browns have failed to fill that position ever since Joe Thomas retired.
Cleveland’s offense has been a disaster for a few years and is hoping to rebuild now that Berry has overhauled the personnel and hired an offensive-minded head coach in Todd Monken. Fano will be a big part of the equation starting in Week 1 at the Jacksonville Jaguars, and former guard Joel Bitonio is already a big fan of what he is seeing with Fano.
In a recent episode of Cleveland Browns Daily, Bitonio stopped by and discussed the progress he has seen thus far from the rookie left tackle. He commended him for holding up well against Jared Verse in camp and believes that even as a rookie, fans are going to see a lot more good than bad from him.
“You know, top-10 pick. You expect the athleticism and the strength to be there, and I think those showed out. Jared Verse is a very strong rusher, but there was times in camp where he would run into Spencer, and it was like hitting a wall. I thought that was very promising. He can get to his point. He can set up his camp, and he can stop these power rushers. The athleticism, the strength, the knowledge, the ability to play in the NFL is all there. When you’re playing against these aliens off the edge every week, there’s gonna be a couple of growing pains. But I urge the fans to give him some time. He’s a rookie, Week 1 starting left tackle. I think the positives are going to outweigh the negatives, and I think you saw that growth throughout camp,” Bitonio said.
He will be thrown straight into the fire on Sunday with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker lined up across from him and it will be a fun subplot to follow during the game. The left tackle spot was a revolving door last season and a major weak point, so his development will go a long way toward turning this offense around and helping Deshaun Watson potentially surprise some people at quarterback.
It’s a tough matchup for Fano, but edge rusher is a stacked position in this league and as Bitonio said, there won’t be any weeks where Fano can take it easy. It will be interesting to see if Monken schemes any help to Fano’s side with a tight end and/or a running back or if he’ll be comfortable leaving Fano on an island right away.
It’s going to be weird not seeing Bitonio out there on Sunday for the first time since 2013. He has been the stalwart of this offense for 12 years and saw so many things change around him over the years, and hopefully he is right about Fano and he can be the next lineman to hold it down in Cleveland for a decade or more.
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